WHAT QUESTIONS?
First-place Yankees are erasing doubts
It was difficult to know what to make of the Yankees when they broke camp back in early April. They had more question marks than almost any team in the majors, but very few solid answers. Would Mark Teixeira’s wrist stay healthy, allowing him to return to his cleanup-hitting ways? Could Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow withstand the rigors of a full season? What could the Yankees expect from aging veterans Carlos Beltran and CC Sabathia? Was swapping out David Robertson for Andrew Miller the right move?
And that didn’t even include Alex Rodriguez, who carried multiple questions all by himself.
Most of the Yankees’ issues have trended in a positive direction, helping them to a 48-40 record and sole possession of first place in the American League East. With 74 games remaining for the Bombers, there is a lot of baseball still to be played, but here is a look at what we have seen so far from Joe Girardi’s club:
FIRST-HALF MVP
Mark Teixeira. Teixeira set his typical goals of 30 home runs and 100 RBI when the spring started,
confident that his troublesome wrist would remain strong and his 35-year-old body would hold up through the grind of the season.
The first baseman is well on his way. His 22 home runs lead the Yankees, while his 62 RBI are tops in the American League.
“It’s a good head start,” Teixeira said of his first-half numbers. “Not to say I’m going to stop if I get there; you want to keep producing all year long. As a power hitter, my entire career, it’s kind of been that is the number.”
Teixeira has the second-best OPS (.876) on the team behind Alex Rodriguez (.898), but the first baseman also provides solid defense, giving him a leg up on A-Rod for first-half MVP honors. Brett Gardner and Dellin Betances also receive honorable mention.
FIRST-HALF FLOP
Stephen Drew. This was a tight race between Drew and Didi Gregorius through late May, but while Gregorius has shown an improved bat (he is hitting .270 since May 29) and stellar defense at shortstop, Drew is hitting .182 on the season and might be on the verge of losing his job.
Yes, Drew has 12 home runs in 247 at-bats, but his average is the secondworst among the 162 qualifying hitters in the majors and his .630 OPS ranks 148th. Rob Refsnyder had two hits on Sunday, including his first home run, and the Yankees appear to be inclined to give the 24-yearold rookie a shot.
BIGGEST SURPRISE
Alex Rodriguez. Neither the steroid-stained slugger nor anybody in the organization had any idea of what to expect this season, but Rodriguez established himself as the Yankees’ best all-around hitter early on, jumping from his No. 7 spot in the Opening Day lineup to the No. 3 hole, where he has hit in 68 of his 77 starts.
A-Rod leads the Yankees with an .898 OPS, while his 18 homers and 51 RBI put him on pace for 33 home runs and 94 RBI, which would easily be his best numbers since 2010, when finished with 30 and 125.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
CC Sabathia. He made only eight starts last year before a knee injury knocked him out for the season, but the big lefty felt good during spring training and had his sights set on a bounce-back year.
Through 17 starts, Sabathia is 4-8 with a 5.47 ERA that ranks him 93rd out of the majors’ 97 qualifying pitchers. He has provided innings — his 100.1 are second on the staff behind Michael Pineda’s 106.1 — but the Yankees are just 7-10 when Sabathia takes the mound this season.
Honorable mention goes to Carlos Beltran. Following last fall’s elbow surgery, the 38-year-old was optimistic about his year, and while his numbers (.260/.309/.430, seven homers, 30 RBI) aren’t Drew-like, they’re hardly in line with his career stats.
BEST MOMENT
Brian McCann’s walk-off home run vs. Rays. The Yankees and Rays shared first place in the AL East when they opened a crucial three-game series in the Bronx on July 3, and after Teixeira tied the game with a three-run homer in the eighth, Tampa Bay scored twice in the 12th, putting the Rays in position to move ahead of the Bombers in the standings once again.
But Teixeira drove in a run to trim the lead to one, then watched McCann drill a three-run, gameending home run to complete the dramatic comeback.
The victory sparked the Yankees to a 6-3 finish before the break, moving them 3.5 games ahead of the Rays in the division.
WORST MOMENT
A Bombers dive. The Yankees won 18 of 24 games from April 17 to May 11, jumping out to a four-game lead in the AL East. But they went 1-10 over their next 11 contests, culminating that forgettable stretch with a three-game sweep at home against the Rangers, who had entered the series with an 18-23 record.
BEST DECISION
All things A-Rod. It appeared that A-Rod and the Yankees were headed for a legal battle when the team opted not to activate a $6 million marketing clause after he tied Willie Mays with his 660th career homer. But the two sides came to an agreement earlier this month that saw the Yankees make $3.5 million in charitable contributions in lieu of paying the bonus to A-Rod. Both sides came out looking great.
Girardi’s decision in late April to make A-Rod a full-time DH — even sitting him in NL parks — was also beneficial, allowing the Yankees to keep the 39-year-old in the lineup on a regular basis.
WORST DECISION
Getting rid of David Carpenter. The Yankees dealt lefty Manny Banuelos — once their top pitching prospect — for relievers David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve over the winter, but after Carpenter got off to a rocky start (4.82 ERA in 22 appearances) the Yankees dumped the righthander. Carpenter was designated for assignment on June 3 and ultimately traded to the Nationals, where he has pitched well (one run in six outings).